Monday, August 27, 2012

Well hello! How was your weekend? Ours was great – we celebrated my sis’s upcoming nuptials with a shower and then a bachelorette party. All in one day. This big sis needed a nap by 7 p.m. ;)

I’ve been working on a project over the past couple of weeks that involved a bunch of little projects and I finally got them all done this weekend. I LOVE IT.

Our basement stairway was kind of the pits after the basement finishing – the tools and drywall scuffed and dinged up the walls, the old carpet was just…well, GROSS. And I had been using the walls in on the stairs to “store” all of my extra frames that I’m saving for upcoming projects.

Here it was in all it’s glory a few weeks ago:

The guys had to tear out some of the old carpet to install the baseboard trim by the stairs, so this actually looks better than it had looked. Before there was no trim at all along the bottom.

The first project was painting that trim before the new carpet was installed. It got a coat of primer and two coats of gloss white paint, which wasn’t too bad because I didn’t have to cut in or be careful because I knew the walls were getting repainted and the carpet was out of there.

After the new carpet was installed I went ahead with the walls. I decided to wait and paint after the carpet was installed because I figured there would be a bunch of scuffs from it being taken downstairs and installed on the stairs. And I was right. :)

I am pretty good at cutting in now, after years and years of painting, but I even so I like to tape off the trim before I paint so it protects it from those little bitty annoying flecks of paint:

I used my FrogTape and it didn’t have to be perfect because it was just there to protect the newly painted white trim. You can see that I don’t stick the tape down onto the trim, I let it stick out from the wall so it’s like a little “umbrella” for the trim. Precious.

After the painting was done (I used the Marina Gray color from the basement that I told you about in this post), I was onto my the big idea I’ve had for the large wall in the stairway.

I had been dreaming this up for months and I was so excited to get it started. The basement bathroom still sits empty and unfinished, but I just had to focus on this instead because I was so psyched about it!

I bought five packages of these pine wood planks from Lowe’s:

They are about $9 each so this project was less than $50 total. I installed them on the wall, much like I do any beadboard project – I started at the top and went down from there, making sure each one fit into the next snugly.

This tongue and groove planking is SO easy to install! I just nailed it in with my nail gun as I went down the wall. When I was done I gave it a very light sanding (this stuff is already smooth to the touch) and then taped off my walls and ceiling:

I used the delicate FrogTape for the ceiling because every. single. time. I’ve ever taped off the ceiling to paint, some of the paint comes off with the paint. This time it didn’t, so that was a nice bonus. ;)

My drop cloth was cut up trash bags:

I usually just use an old sheet for my drop cloth, but this time I was using stain, not paint. And stain is impossible to clean up – I wasn’t taking any chances with new carpet:

I used this dark walnut color and looove it. It’s close to the color of our wood floors and it’s nice and rich and lovely.

I gotta tell you, I was sweating while staining this wall – I’ve never stained anything this large or vertical and I had to work fast to keep a “wet edge.” I was also trying to watch drips and trying not to flick it everywhere as I was working.

Sweating.

After I was done wiping it down (I showed you how to stain here), I stood back and swooned:

I LOOOOVE it. Luuuuurve. Luuuuv. Whatever.

Obsessed with it.

Before we had a one bulb light fixture in this space that I installed years ago, but it didn’t give off enough light for my liking. Since this space was getting a redo anyway, I replaced it with a new track light:

I loved that I could aim a couple of the lights on the awesomesauce wall and the others off to the side.

Normally I wouldn’t be thrilled about track lighting, but they’ve come a long way. I’ve mentioned before that I’m going for a slightly industrial, but warm, look in the basement, and I think this light fits in SO well with the wood wall:

I had to use my jigsaw to cut the planks so they fit around that small ledge we have down there. It’s sooo not perfect but no one will ever notice it…as far as I know. ;) Oh, and the boards themselves aren’t exactly the same length. I was going to caulk the edges but after I stained I realized you can’t even tell.

I still have to paint that ledge white and then this space is DONE. Who knew a simple basement stairway would be so much work?

Here’s another quick look at the before:

And after trim, paint, new carpet, a wood planked wall, a new light and minus a cat:

OH, I also spray painted the brass hardware brushed nickel (after I took this picture last night) and cleaned up the railings really well. They were NAS. TY.

Here’s the bottom set of steps before:

(They had to take some of the stairs apart to install the trim, hence no carpet here).

And here’s the view from downstairs up to the wood wall:

LOVE IT!! It’s warm and unique and I would hug it if I could.

OK, I’ve tried.

One of the many things I love about the basement is all of the wall space – it has so much potential! We don’t have a lot of wall space upstairs because our home has an open floor plan, so I’m stoked about doing some fun things with all of it.

Even the stairs have a ton of wall space. I don’t know if I’ll hang anything on the wood wall or let it be the art. If I don’t, there's a large wall above the ledge that I want to do something fun with.

What do you think, add art to the wood wall or let it be? What would you do?

We did this same thing for an accent wall in our nursery, but used the cedar ones instead since he's a boy and boys get stinky. We also decided not to stain since it was cedar, but I went back and forth for a while. It's nice to see what it would look like if we decide to do it one day. They look great in your basement! Awesome job!

I'm loving that you post earlier in the day. Now I don't have to wait until just before bed to read them. =) How's the day without the Bub going? I'm getting ready for my little girl to be gone all day starting next week.

I'm a woodworker, so I hate covering up my pieces (I build fine wood furniture), but I also know that my pieces are intended for use, so my preference is to be very minimalistic about what is placed on them... so my advice would be a single large canvas item... can be a family portrait on the beach or a favorite painting... but keep it simple and 'earthy' in tone. That's my 2 cents :P

Ok ... I am in love! I have been wanting to do the same type of thing in my sons room but with pallet wood, and then I realized what a pain it is to take the pallets apart. Sooo I just may have to go this route! Thanks for the idea!!

Love, love, love that wall! I'd only seen that in restaurants before. It's funny folks said either leave as is or one big piece of artwork. My 1st thought was use it as a gallery wall for the kids school/art work. All framed in white (like your trim/railing) and changed out regularly. Place the nails in between your planks so they're semi-hidden. Multiple pieces would ensure some could be seen from downstairs and some could be seen from upstairs. Just my two cents...

OK I have to have this in my boys room! I would want to put a deer head on my wood wall because my boys are all into hunting and everything "woodsy". It would be PERFECT! Awesome job and thanks for the inspiration!!

Lovely project! I've been considering a similar project but the wall I want to work with has a closet door in it. I've been concerned about how "finished" it will look along the edge of the wood planks where they run up against the door frame and the baseboards.

I think I would use that wall as a "Mantle". In other words a big Christmas wreath of some sort, a big frame that can be changed out with seasonal pictures or whatever. I wouldn't tie myself down to a set piece of artwork. It's a gorgeous wall, it doesn't always need something but you could use it for seasonal dressing up occasionally.

I LOVE this wall!! What a statement! Can something rustic be called beautiful at the same time? It looks much more expensive than it cost. (In my opinion) I think you should leave the wall as the art that it is right now. Eventually you can add a large print when you're ready, but for now I think enjoy it like it is!

Thanks all! I chose not to stain beforehand because that's just how I do things -- I prefer to stain/paint after everything is installed. In this instance it was much quicker to to stain while they were on the wall -- I would have had to wait to till they were completely dry to handle them (for sawing, jigsawing and installation).

PHENOMENAL! I love this! So unique, so warm and so COOL!! I'm thinking about how I can utilize this somewhere in my home - brilliant! I saw for now, leave it be, and just enjoy it - I'm sure you'll come up with some way to dress it up if the mood strikes you. :-)

Oh my word! That is amazing! I love the new take on the wood paneling, this is SO much better than the old style, and I love it (luuuurve it) so much! I can't wait to have my own house so I can add this for sure! :DYou've done it again. Genius!

I love the texture and dimension it adds to what is such a blank slate! I have the same dilemma about adding artwork. I stenciled my stairway and really don't want to put up artwork and create any holes. I'm thinking 3M strips might be the way to go.

Love it! Now should I do one or both stairwells? lol I like Tracis idea of dressing as a "mantle" for different seasons. I also think a large (I mean large, too) black & white photo canvas of something you really like (i.e. NYC? Family? Bub?) could be used year round. AND I love it bare and spotlighted by the new track lighting. That new light really "makes" it!

What a beautiful project! I love the end look - you are brave for staining on the new carpet - I would have been to afraid of getting some stain on it! We are finishing our basement right now and are looking for ideas for the walls - will have to keep this in mind :)

love love love, and you did it,RocksI have always wanted to do the area around out fireplace ...between two windows and up to the peak(36 feet) redo the fireplace and a new mantle. Your idea hits it....thank you I love this and feel you deserve a weekend off....girl

It looks fantastic! I am curious about how it came out along the bottom. Were the planks a perfect fit from top to bottom of did you have to cut the bottom piece to fit. Also, did you remove the base trim and put it back on top of the bottom board?

I love it! Looks great. I was in the middle of decorating etc our newly built home when my husbands job moved us to Germany. I love checking out your blog and getting new ideas for our return in 2.5 years! Keep up the good work.

Love the wood plank wall, it looks amazing. Much more refined looking that the pallet walls and won't get dated as quickly as the pallet look. The stain looks great and if you ever wanted a more English cottage look it could be painted a light colour. I am going to pin this idea to my reno pinterest board.

I love the wood planked wall! Looks so awesome! You've got me wanting to try this out to a wall in my house now. Hmmm...which one? I think you could do maybe just a single piece of simple artwork on the wall but it totally looks great without any, too.

Well, you single-handedly just sparked a whole new wave of planked walls! It looks so amazing! Prepare to be duplicated! ps -- did you seal it? think it's necessary? I'm staining some stuffs and wondered.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS WALL! It is gorgeous. What a great idea to make the transition to the basement. I don't think it needs art. Its a work of art itself. love your blog and projects. check out my new design blog :)

You are quite a carpenter person. You do all this yourself? You are so brave and clever. Guess it's like alot of things it's only scarey til you go at it then you can only learn and get better as you go? Sure looks like it. You'll have the best house in your area. It must be so great to have a basement to hide all your crafting messes as you make them, complete projects. You must have alot of energy also. So admire your resourcefulness and love your blog.

I LOVE it! I would add a chunky round white framed mirror. Ok, that's my gut instinct anyway. We have a staircase like this and a mirror on the landing helps see which kiddos are lurking at the top past bedtime!

Beautiful! I would be tempted to add a single metal sculpture...something soft, flowing form, hinting of motion....like a satin brushed nickel finish of a bird in flight, or something circular and open....to add a little curve and fluidity and a faint gleam for the light to bounce off of.

Just playing on Pinterest instead of shopping on black Friday! :-) LOVE this - I have been wanting to do this on my living room ceiling but I don't know if the weight would be too much! LOVE it! Nicely done. Thank you for the inspiration!

Help! I really want to do this but when I went to Lowes and Home Depot I can't find anything comparable. Can you tell me specifically what it is called? I couldn't find anything that inexpensive and since I am planning to do it on a huge wall the cost is important.

Tammy I don't know the name specifically, other than beadboard (this one is without the "bead") or wood planks. I've heard from others who can't find it so I wonder if it's a regional product? Mine were on the end cap last time I was there, and the price has gone up a bit to $15, but the price could go down again. (Last I heard wood prices were up.)

Your wood wall inspired us to do something similar in our baby girl’s nursery. It turned out great… you can check it out here: http://purposefulproductions.blogspot.com/2014/04/diy-wood-accent-wall.html

If you have a specific question, make sure I can answer you back by adding your email to your google/blog account! And be sure to check out the FAQs tab at the top of the site. Due to the number of emails I get, I just can't get back to everyone.